Can opening devices



June 28, 1955 J. TURNEY CAN OPENING DEVICES Filed Sept. 23, 1953 IN V EN TOR JAMES TURNEY Sttes Patent lice 2,711,578 Fatented June 28, 1955 CAN OPENING DEVICES James Turney, New York, N. Y.

Application September 23, 1953, Serial No. 381,839

1 Claim. (Cl. 30-6) The object of this invention is to provide an opener which can be used on any size can, which has liquid contents, whether the can has a rim or is rimless. The opener is designed primarily for use to open evaporated milk cans, which have no rim, and to provide a proper pouring opening, permitting the free and easy flow of the cans contents. The opener will operate with ease and perfect efficiency and with a total lack of danger of infiicting any injury to the operator. The opener is so designed and constructed that the blade may be washed and kept clean and sanitary with perfect ease and safety at all times.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my opener, partially broken away to some details of internal construction, and

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are views of the blade proper.

The opener has a housing with sides and top and bottom walls. The side walls are bent outward at the level of the bottom wall and then downward to provide the runners 15 which contact the can top to hold the opener steady and in position.

A cam disc 10 is eccentrically mounted on ,a pin 12 extending between the side walls and located near one end of the housing.

The bottom and top walls 2 and 5 of the housing havc lengthwise slots, 68, 6B, formed therein in which slots there is movably located the vertically positioned cutter bar 3. The cutter bar 3 has the blade I mounted on its lower end and a knob 8 for the application of manual pressure on the upper end. lnterposed between the knob 8 and a plate 6 through which the bar 3 passes and which rests upon the top wall 5 is a spring 7 which urges the bar to its upper or inoperative position.

A U-shaped strap 9 is wrapped around a portion of the circumference of the cam disc opposite the cutter bar and the ends of this strap extend beyond the bar 3 which passes through the openings in the strap where bearings 4 mounted in the ends of the strap hold the cutter bar 3 in contact with the cam disc 10.

A hand lever 11' which passes through a slot 9A in the strap 9 is attached to the cam disc to rotate the cam disc.

The blade, which is shown in detail in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, is of a concave-convex shape with the concave face constituting the front face as the blade is moved to cut the can. The lowest point of the blade is provided with a point D for the initial cut in the can top. From the point D the cutting edge of the cutter diverges upward and outward through the curved cutting edges C and E to the points B and P where the edge is directed forward in the direction of cutting movement. The blade has an overall width (B to F) of approximately one inch. As the blade is initially forced into the can top the convex back of the blade forces the blade forward simultaneously with the downward movement of the blade and the concave front face of the blade causes the cut portion of the can to assume a coil form.

The side walls of the housing, at the end opposite the cam disc, are provided with a spacing, stay 13 located between the walls.

In operation the opener is placed upon the can top with the runners 15 supporting the opener and the dependent ears 14, which may be provided with recesses in their can wall contacting faces to receive the rim if there is one, in contact with the side walls of the can. The knob 8 is then pressed downward to force the cutter 1 into the can top with a slight forward motion caused by the convex back face of the blade until the shoulders X, X, of the cutter rest upon the can top. The lever 11 is then moved upward about the pin 12 and the eccentric mounting of the cam disc 10 moves the bar 3 with the blade forward to cut an elongate opening in the can top and simultaneously with the advance of the cutter, the severed strip is wound into a coil form, by the concave front face of the blade.

I claim:

A can opener having a housing with side, top and bottom walls, said top and bottom walls having registering slots formed therein, a vertically movable bar positioned in said slots and movable therealong, a cutter mounted on the lower end of said bar, a knob mounted on the upper end thereof, a pin mounted in the side walls of said housing, a cam disc eccentrically mounted on said pin and in contact with said bar, a U-shaped strap contacting said cam disc surface on the side opposite said bar and extending beyond said bar, said bar passing through the ends of said strap, and a lever positioned in said cam disc, whereby depression of the bar will force the cutter into a can and rotation of the cam disc will force the cutter along said can to make an opening therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,364,219 Johnson Dec. 5, 1944 2,571,728 Kuykendall Oct. 16, 1951 2,595,653 Fuller May 6, 1952 2,639,500 Gillespie May 26, 1953 

